About “Changing of the Guards”

Pusha T reflects on where he’s come from and the significant changes that have taken place in his life, lifting him from drug dealing to a career as a highly visible, highly skilled hip hop artist. He comes from a difficult and dangerous background and here he claims to represent a changing of the guards in the sense that he is bringing authenticity to rap, and removing the fraudulent rappers that only claim to have come from such a background.

In keeping with the theme of change and evolution, there are several points in the song that mark a subtle musical key shift: One when Pusha T begins rapping, then a shift back starting on the line, “Squilly told me…” then back on “God in heaven knows…” then back again on “Closer to clarity…” These are literal key shifts to represent a shift in paradigm that Pusha T is bringing to the game.